The invention relates to a luminaire comprising inter alia a housing and a plate, said housing comprising at least a first half shell referred to as xe2x80x9croofxe2x80x9d and fitted with means for fixing it to a support, and a second, transparent half shell referred to as xe2x80x9ccoverxe2x80x9d, each of said half shells having edges which correspond with one another so as to permit an assembly of the half shells with one another by the edges in their operational position, while the plate supports internal functional elements of the luminaire.
A luminaire comprising a housing and a plate as described above is known from the document EP 0 173 453. According to this document, the luminaire is formed by two trough-shaped half shells, and an L-shaped rail section supports the installation elements as well as a reflector. The rail is fixed to the upper portion of the roof.
It is an object of the invention to reduce the weight of the luminaire.
To achieve this, the plate is held in place by clamping between the roof and the cover.
The basic idea accordingly is to improve the rigidity through the mutual retention of the plate by the housing and vice versa, which renders it possible to utilize thinner half shells and to economize on material.
Advantageously, the plate is provided with an edge whose shape corresponds to that of the edge of the roof portion and the edge of the cover such that it is well retained between these latter two edges.
In a special embodiment of a luminaire of elongate shape, the two longitudinal lateral walls of the roof each have a portion which is inclined with respect to the direction of alignment of the plate when it is in its position, the edge of the plate is provided with an inclined portion which corresponds to the inclined portion of the roof, and the inclined portion of the plate is pressed against the corresponding inclined portion of the roof when the plate is assembled between the roof and the cover.
In addition to the improved rigidity provided by this arrangement, it also provides a better thermal contact between the plate, which supports elements which generate heat, and the housing, which removes this heat.
Further special embodiments are defined below in this Specification.
These as well as other, more detailed aspects of the invention will become evident from the following description of an embodiment which is given by way of non-limitative example.